Star Trek: New Horizon
by greenhorn001
Summary: Set right after the events of Star Trek: DS9, it is the year 2393. A new Sovereign class MK-III prototype, USS Nexus, was created and crewed. She began her new voyage from the Utopia Planitia yards near Mars. Her first cruise took her toward Bajor. On her way there, they hit a rogue wormhole that took them 70,000 light years into Gamma Quadrant. The crew found themselves alone.
1. Prologue: USS Nexus

**This is a story I made out of an Star Trek rp im running. Its a good story and I want to share this. I hope you like it. Please review and comment :)**

* * *

 **BEGIN PROLOGUE**

 **Stardate:** June 3rd, 2393.  
 **Location:** Utopia Colony, Mars.

It was a tense situation. The bridge was darkened with red alert blaring among the stations. All stations were high on alert. The bridge crew was concentrated on their stations. Ops, Conn, Tac among all the consoles on the bridge was covered. A single woman was sitting in the middle of the bridge on her command chair. Camryn Sheppard was gripping the armrest of her chair. She was nervous. Agitated with sweat trailing down her forehead. Her blonde hair was tied to the back of her hair into a bun.

Wiping her forehead free from sweat, Camryn closed her eyes and took a deep breath while inhaling. She held it in for a few seconds before exhaling muttering to herself, "Easy Ryn. It's just a simulation. They are testing you."

"Commander," the tac officer shouted looking at his console, "A Romulan ship is de cloaking off the port bow! They are powering their weapons!"

"On screen," Camryn responded looking at the view screen. It popped open showing the Romulan ship appearing in a shimmer. She checked the stats on her armchair noting that her ship wasn't being targeted. They were targeting a Klingon cargo transport they were escorting. She was commanding an Excelsior class in this simulation. She spoke again, "Hail the Romulan cruiser."

The officer shook his head and responded, "No response, sir. They are preparing to fire on the transport. Power levels at fifty percent."

Camryn let out another exhale and wiped her hand on her lap to get rid of the sweat. She spoke again, "Bring us about. Take us between them. Tac, keep your eyes on the cruiser. I want to be ready to defend us if necessary."

"Yes, Commander," the officers at conn and tac responded as the ship moved in between the two.

The power level decreased as the Romulan cruiser lowered their weapons for the time being. The console chirped for a minute as the officer announced, "We are being hailed."

"On screen," Ryn spoke again as the screen switched to the Romulan cruiser. He didn't seem happy to see her.

He spat with anger, "Do not interfere, USS Saint Pierre. My quarrel is with the IKS Targ."

Camryn responded with determination staring back at the Romulan commander, "Commander, my mission is to escort the IKS Targ to Qo'nos. I intend to complete my mission, so please back off. I will defend myself if necessary."

The Romulan commander spat back, "Your threats are unnecessary. We only need the cargo. It was stolen from one of our outposts and we need it back. We will destroy you if needed."

The tac officer spoke up, "Commander, the Romulan vessel is targeting us."

Ryn responded again with determination, "Commander, I am warning you. Please stand down. We can talk this out."

The Romulan responded automatically before shutting off communication, "Too late, Commander. We need the cargo."

Ryn's eyes was met with the Romulan ship and the space background. A snarl escaped from her mouth as she shouted, "Increase shields to max. Prepare phasers and torpedoes. Keep us in between the cargo vessel and the Romulan ship!"

The tac officer spoke, "Commander, the Romulan ship is preparing to fire."

The vessel opened fire as the green disrupters flew across space and impacted against the Excelsior's shields. The bridge shuddered as Ryn gripped the handles of her commander chair and shouted with anger, "Fire!"

The USS Saint Pierre released her own volley at the cruiser. The tac officer spoke up, "Several hits, Commander. No effect!"

Ryn cursed under her breath and was about to speak when her conn officer spoke up again, "Commander! Few more signatures. Three more Romulan vessels de cloaking!"

They were surrounded. Camryn had to think fast in order to save their skins so she shouted, "Lieutenant, contact the IKS Targ. Tell them to warp. We will cover them."

"Yes Commander," the lieutenant responded as he sent the message.

The Klingon cargo transport made a few steps forward with the Excelsior class moving to cover their escape. The Federation vessel continued to fire at all four ships. As the Targ was about to warp, one of the vessels fired on it. It started a chain reaction, destroying the cargo vessel.

Ryn let out a silent groan covering her face with her hand. The simulation ended as a man in red Starfleet uniform with the captain pips approached him. He spoke as Ryn stood at attention before him, "Sheppard."

"Captain Thomas," Camryn responded.

Malcolm Thomas offered his slight smile as he nodded waving his hand, "At ease, Sheppard. Before you sprain something."

Camryn let out a sigh as she went into ease responding, "Don't tell me sir. I failed."

The Captain shook his head and responded, "Don't say that, Commander. You know this was just a simulation. You were only tested to see how well you react under pressure. I will see you in the morning, Sheppard. Dismissed."

"Yes sir," Ryn nodded before walking from him out of the simulator. She let out a huge sigh as she continued along the corridor of Utopia Colony.

Utopia Colony on Mars was her home for the past several years as she accepted a posting on the colony. She was undergoing commanding officer training to prepare her for an Executive Officer position onboard a Starfleet vessel. She was excited and uneasy. No one told her yet of what ship they were aiming for, but she was hoping it would be the USS Titan. Or the USS Potemkin C.

After a few elevator rides and a few more corridors after cross the yard outside of the two buildings, Ryn rode the escalator back up to the third floor of an apartment building. She entered through the door. Taking the pin from her hair bun, she removed it allowing her long, curled blonde hair fall. She shook her head and ran her fingers through combing it out while letting out a sigh. She felt tightness on her shoulders and on her arms.

The IKS Targ simulation was similar to the Kobayashi Maru simulation she took a long time ago during the academy. That same situation offered her a no win scenario. It was to determine how she would react while under pressure. Several other officers were competing her for an important XO position onboard a vessel that no one knows about. It was enough to make her nervous. Even under pressure.

Approaching her bathroom, she removed her clothing and turned on the shower. Feeling the warm water, she immersed herself into the shower hub while letting out a groan closing her eyes. Taking the soap, she let the warm water dampen her hair while she cleaned herself getting rid of the tension on her body. The half El-Aurian needed this shower to prepare herself before going to bed and getting up again in the morning. She couldn't wait for the results. It was going to be a long night for her.

* * *

The following morning in a building somewhere within Utopia Colony, Captain Malcolm Thomas was looking over a few PADDs with the other flag officers. They were in the Starfleet Headquarters building within the colony. They were looking over the officer reports for an Executive officer for the USS Nexus. They were discussing them with the captain to give him a few options. One of them handed him the PADD asking him, "What about Commander T'Mir?"

"What about her," Thomas asked as he looked over her bio.

The Admiral spoke explaining, "She has all the defining qualities of a good first officer. Vulcan. She followed the Prime Directive. She listens to orders and executes them without the coldness of her race. Her personality defines her as a good, logical but solid officer who understands the crew. She doesn't question her orders."

Thomas let out a sigh and tossed the PADD on the table responding, "Well she sounds fine and all, but I don't need her on my command. What else?"

One of the other Admiral responded handing him another PADD, "Commander Tok Kura? He is a solid Bolian commander. He was in the starfighting during the Maquis skirmish and commanded one of the squadrons in the Dominion War. He wishes to transfer over to Starfleet navy for a different career if you accept his proposal. He is a career man who has seen everything but remained unchanged by the experience. He could be a good officer for the USS Nexus."

Thomas shook his head and tossed it with the batch with a definite response, "No."

They all looked at him and one of them spoke, "We went through all fifteen executive officer candidates and you said no to everything. If you can't decide, then we will have to assign you one. Think carefully."

The captain let out a sigh and turned his attention to another pile of PADDs they discarded. He went through it all and picked out one showing it to the Admiral, "What about her?"

The Admiral took it and shook his head responding, "Commander Camryn Sheppard? It's not happening."

Malcolm questioned their reasoning, "Why not? You just discarded the PADD without looking it over. She could be a good first officer…"

The admiral interjected with his solid response, "Captain Thomas. You and Starfleet have a different opinion about Sheppard. She is a good officer for engineering, but she will be great if she actually listens to orders and obey them to the letter. She has a reputation for playing hard and fast with the rules when it doesn't suit her. It's very unbecoming for an El Aurian especially when they have a reputation for being great listeners. Sheppard can't listen, so she is not a good role model for being a first officer."

Malcolm continued with his hand on the table and his body a bit forward, "Are you sure that's all? With due respect, Admiral, I think the fact that you are not giving her a chance is because you don't want an El Aurian with her reputation to be in command."

The Admiral spoke again with enforcement, "No. We just don't want a commander who has the tendency to change the rules to fit her style. She tends to find loopholes within the Prime Directive and we do not want her to do this as a first officer."

Malcolm nodded taking the PADD back and responded, "I understand. I am still taking her. With or without your approval. You gave me command of the USS Nexus, so therefore the final decision rests on me with the choice if my first officer."

The admiral let out a sigh and backed a bit with a question, "Why her? Why not fifteen other candidates."

Malcolm simply responded, "They are different."

"Different how," the admiral wondered and the captain responded, "They all have the experience necessary to be the first officer of the USS Nexus. Hell, they all applied for the hope of taking part of the new experience. After all, the ship is a Sovereign class MK III with a refined AI system made by the Romanov Corporation. They all took the chance. Twenty of them. Five of which we discarded because I do agree they are not commanding material but to be honest. These fifteen candidates? They could have taken any first officer positions anywhere in the fleet because they have better experience with regular starships but nothing like the USS Nexus. They are good, but they are the candidates that are most unsuited for becoming my new first officer."

"Now, Sheppard," Malcolm continued as he lifted the PADD to show it to the admirals, "Sheppard may not be a good commander material, but she has all the combined experience just like any operations officer. She'd been on the Enterprise, Deep Space 9, and the Defiant. Hell, she even went back to the Enterprise to continue her operations duty. She could have gone to any other ships for her continued experience, but she went back to the Enterprise. Do you know why? She wanted to continue learning how to command under several of the best officers of the Federation. Yes, her experience in command may be unrefined. It may be raw, but it is my intention to help her realize capability of being a good first officer. I intend to help her improve and I believe the USS Nexus is a better home for her. She deserves the spot as my first officer."

They were quiet as they listened to him. They noticed that Malcolm was determined and they didn't want to say no. The Admiral let out a sigh and responded, "Alright Captain. We won't argue with you anymore. She's yours. You may talk to her."

The captain smiled and took the PADD as he nodded while backing from the table, "Thank you Admirals."

The Admiral responded back, "Dismissed captain. And good luck."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Camryn's apartment, Ryn was leaning against the bannister on her deck. Wind was running through her long blonde hair rustling it. She continued to smile to enjoy the simulated breeze of Utopia Colony. Mars still had that low oxygen content. She was enjoying the colony's simulated air and oxygen that was recycled and refined through the processors. The El Aurian took her time to enjoy her last moments in her apartment because it was soon time for her to move back to Earth. That is. When she is rejected for becoming a first officer.

Then, her device beeped as she looked down, took out her small device and read the message. It told her to meet at the Martian diner in 1100 hours. She checked her time. It was a quarter to 1100 hours. The message was from Captain Thomas. With a slight smile in her lips and a surprised look, Ryn quickly ran back inside to the bathroom to check to see how she looked. She tied her hair back and braided it into a ponytail. Taking a quick water break, she ran out of her apartment, locked it and walked quickly across the hallway toward her destination. She didn't want to be late.

After a few moments of walking hard, Ryn found herself in the dining area. It was left of the Mess hall but quieter. Looking around, she found Malcom. The captain waved her over and Ryn took a second to touch her hair to make sure it was braided and behind her neck. She walked over to him and responded with enthusiasm, "Captain."

"Sit," Malcolm waved his hand over to the chair and continued as Ryn took her seat, "Sheppard. How was your morning? Feeling rested?"

Camryn nodded responded, "Yes sir. I have a good morning. What did you want to talk about?"

Malcolm responded, "You being my first officer onboard the Nexus."

"Really," Ryn asked with a smile, and continued, "I wasn't sure if I was going to be picked. Honestly. I mean…"

The captain waved his hand once as he responded cutting her off gently, "You have one of the best experiences you can offer the Nexus but you still have some learning to do. I want to bring you in. To continue fostering your skills because I believe you have the potential. Like I said before in your simulations. It's not about failing. It's about how you feel under stress. What you do. I believe you have all the qualities I see in an officer, but you still have more to go."

The commander nodded regaining her composure and responded, "Yes sir. I'm willing to learn."

Malcolm nodded and they stood as he showed her the way, "Good. Why don't we head to the Nexus right now? I will call ahead and have someone transport your stuff to your quarters. It will be on deck nine."

"Everything," Ryn wondered and the captain smiled and nodded confirming it, "Everything, Commander. Let's be on our way."

"Yes, sir," Camryn responded bristling with confidence as they walked side by side out of the dining area toward the shuttle transports.

* * *

 **Lexia**  
 **Stardate:** June 3rd, 2393  
 **Location:** Utopia Planitia Yards

In the Sol System orbiting Mars is the Utopia Planitia Yards. Among the mess of constructs and ships as well as other salvage was the Spacedock. Inside was the USS Nexus. It was a Sovereign MK III class Starfleet vessel capable of Warp 9.75. With was fully armed and powered with three nacelles attached on the back. one on top in the center between the other two on the bottom. The ship itself was straight and slanted in a long, extended way with the saucer on the top forward in a longer, more oval way.

She was protected inside the space dock for now with the latches connected to the hull and saucer section and the tubes attached to the deuterium tanks. Several shuttle pods were flying around inspecting the hull but so far the _USS Nexus_ seems to be intact. One of the pods flew under the belly of the saucer, its light flashing on the shape of a shuttle. It was for a large shuttle attached to the bottom of the oval saucer. The shuttle, the Captain's Yacht, was called _Serenity_ It was vacant for now.

Inside the ship was a bit more sophisticated. More advanced like with lightened corridors and maroon carpeting. The corridors were sharper. The decks were spaced. Even the intersecting halls were roomy. Some of the decks had a bridge across a hole in the middle of the decks that go down a bit. For 31 levels, each decks were different for each one. The inside of the ship was more convenient. More livable. The bridge was more spaced and bigger with more consoles. The command section was in the center of the bridge and a bit lower. Both the conn and the tac console was, as always, on the front of the bridge before the viewscreen.

Sections around the main bridge were several rooms like the captain's ready room and the observational lounge with the war room in the center. The war room was typically a spherical device in the center of the room for viewing and discussion. The windows were sparse and clear. For each crew quarters had a Spartan feel to it. Some had bunk beds for the enlisted personnel while others had better and bigger rooms for the officers. There were also quarters made specifically customized for the civilians onboard the ship.

On each and all the decks were turbolifts. Among the corridors were holo emitters designed for holograms. It was actually designed for one specific particular kind of brand. A new kind of engineering technology. The Artificial Intelligence. Among the fibres of the ship itself lived a living complex of the one called Lexia. She was spelled LEXIA but pronounced as you would call her Lexia. The personal dream of the one named Alexia Romanov, Alexia wanted to outfit future ships with AI technology. Only a civilian without a rank, but in Starfleet for one reason but to help the Federation to do great things with AI. She was the brainchild of LEXIA and made her alive.

LEXIA was everywhere on the ship. She observed each one crewmember as they walked. She wouldn't invade in their privacy unless they allowed her. There were 1423 souls onboard the vessel. LEXIA was everywhere and there is nowhere that she is not allowed in. She would appear in the viewscreen or bulletin boards if necessary for information. Her hologram body will appear whenever she wants to feel herself walking along the carpeting of each corridors and decks while interacting among the crew.

Every decks weren't inaccessible to her and no secrets were hiding from her. Only one secret she knows of is hidden in a very special deck for her that only the Captain is allowed to be in. Deck Thirteen. This deck was off limits to all the crew. Restricted. It was also where her android body will be created and replaced if whenever her body is destroyed or discarded. If that happens, the information from the back of the android body will be uploaded to the _USS Nexus_ 's AI system and it will be downloaded to a new Android body. She had a surplus of them and she never runs out of supplies.

LEXIA appeared suddenly on deck eight as she continued walking among the carpentry. She was a very beautiful woman at her right. She wore only a black Starfleet civilian uniform suited to an Artificial Intelligence. She wore her brown curled hair down to her shoulders. It was thick and wavy. Looking among the crew, she locked eyes at them and smiled gently. Her programming allowed her to experience a wide variety of emotions. It made the crew feel at ease with her around.

The holosuit doors opened suddenly as Lexia passed a Starfleet ensign working on it. One angry human shouting at a crewman. She smirked watching him rush away from the holosuit. The AI would have to watch that one. Security guys always causes damage to almost everything, so LEXIA would have to keep up with the repair. She tapped on the shoulder of the mechanic and offered him a reassuring smile giving him the confidence again to continue his repairs. A confident engineer was the key to a quick maintenance and repair in order for the ship to run smoothly.

Suddenly as someone called out for her name, the LEXIA hologram fitzed out and reappeared on deck sixteen where the Main Engineering was located. She smiled at the person who called out for computer so she spoke as she approached the Chief engineer, "Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge?"

He seemed a bit startled and the hologram offered her greeting as she responded, "I am LEXIA, the ship's Artificial Intelligence. You do not need to call me computer."

She spoke to him softly in a friendly manner, "Your quarters is on Deck Nine."

The _Nexus's_ Artificial Intelligence watched the Chief of Engineering walk away to find his quarters after thanking her. LEXIA's internal alarm beeped. The captain and the new first officer had docked. Malcolm needed to see her. Offering a mysterious smile, the hologram vanished into the cybernetic fibres of the ship and moved across the ship into the forbidden deck of Deck thirteen…

* * *

 ** _Serenity_ ,The Captain's Yacht**  
 **Location:** Starbase Hangar Bay, Utopia Colony  
 **Stardate:** June 4th, 2393

That mid-afternoon on the colony when Camryn strode into the hangar bay with a knapsack over her shoulder, her brown eyes scanned the large shuttle in front of them. The small crew was loading stuff into it with some cargo as several additional personnel boarded her. As Malcolm walked forward to the shuttle controller officer, Ryn took her time to come close to the hull of the shuttle. She touched the single word written across her hull. It said Serenity.

Ryn looked up as the captain approached her offering her a hand toward the hatch, "You ready for an adventure of a lifetime, Commander?"

Ryn smiled at him and nodded as Mal gave her a bit of a wink, "Yes captain."

She entered first as the captain followed and closed the hatch, locking it. They headed toward the front passing some enlisted personnel who buckled themselves in for the ride. The cockpit neared them as Malcolm spoke pointing her to the pilot seat, "Commander, why don't you pilot the Serenity?"

"Really?" Camryn eagerly asked. As Malcolm nodded took his place on the copilot seat, Ryn removed her knapsack and placed it on the floor as she took her place on the seat. She spoke as her hands were busy on the console, "Going through preflight checks. Fuel check. Hatches battened down and locked. All crew and cargo inside. Ready to launch, control."

After the confirmation from the controller officer, the Serenity lifted off from the ground, hovered for a bit before making an engine sound forward out of the hangar bay doors. As Camryn concentrated on her flying up toward the atmosphere and space away from the colony, Malcom typed in a few commands. The door behind them locked as he announced, "We have privacy, Commander. You're doing well. I just want to share some information and discuss our next stage."

Ryn nodded as she kept her eyes on the viewscreen and her natural listening ear open to Malcolm, "Yes, sir."

Malcolm continued, "First, how much do you know of the USS Nexus?"

As the thrusters from the Serenity roar passed the small mountain still climbing up, Ryn responded trying to piece together what she remembered through her eidetic memory while keeping her attention on the viewscreen, "She is a Sovereign MK III class with an Artificial Intelligence onboard. You call it LEXIA. LEXIA is the blood and vessel of the Nexus keeping her alive and going. LEXIA is also a hologram. The Nexus has been crewed, so she is ready to go."

"Excellent," Mal responded and asked her again when he detected her changed tone, "Concern?"

Soon as the Serenity broke through the thin barrier between the atmosphere and space beyond, Ryn shrugged, "Nothing too serious. Aside from Data, I just don't trust sentient machines. No offense, sir."

Mal shrugged and responded, "None taken, Commander. This is another reason why I picked you. You are selective with your choosing. As is mines. You will get used to LEXIA, I am sure."

The Serenity made a turn veering away from some floating metal debris as Cam responded bluntly looking at him for a brief moment, "We'll see, captain. What else?"

Malcolm continued as he watched some buoy floating pass some more space debris, "As soon as we board, I would like to get us underway. I need discuss some detail with Lexia. Why don't you head straight to the bridge? All of your things will be beamed to your quarters on Deck Nine. Get a status report from all hands and monitor the situation while I finish some things. Once we get underway, we will start with her shakedown cruise by transporting a new commanding officer for Deep Space 9. He is Lieutenant Colonel Juri Skael, an old former Bajoran freedom fighter who transferred into Starfleet during the height of his career. Starfleet needed someone with the knowledge to run a Nor Class station, so he is perfect for DS9. He just finished his trails here as well so all we need to do is transport him to Bajor where he will take over."

A small energy arched across the debris as it was ejected from another ship. It hit one of the metal and sent it spinning toward the large shuttle. Cam quickly thrust the shuttle sideways to avoid the debris as she flew through the gap between the ship and a floating deactivated nacelle. Cam looked at him with a hardened look and a question before looking back at the viewscreen, "A former freedom fighter? Are we sure to trust Colonel Juri?"

Malcolm nodded, "Yes. Major Kira was the one who recommended him. Said she trusted him as well. We will also be transporting several compliments of Starfighter and Marine personnel as well as doing some training runs once we get there. While that happens, the USS Nexus will be exploring the space between Bajor and Cardassia as well as charting the space between them. It will be a good run for the civilians who signed up for the Nexus's first tour."

"How many?" The El Aurian asked as she saw the space dock come into view. The USS Nexus was waiting for them.

Malcolm took a few seconds to count the numbers and replied, "Approximately five hundred civilians and nine hundred personnel of both officers and enlisted in the mix. We have a big crew including Juri Skael's small staff for DS9."

Having no more questions so far, Camryn kept her silence as she concentrated on her flying toward the space dock. Her light in the front of the yacht flashed across the bow of the Sovereign class. Her expression turned to curiosity and excitement as she maneuvered the Serenity around to the bottom of the saucer. Malcolm spoke cautioning her, "Steady as she goes, Commander."

Ryn nodded and moved the vessel slowly up toward the vacant space where the large shuttle will fit. As the thrusters hissed into the bow of the ship and the latches hooked in the large shuttle, the ship was automatically locked in. Mal praised her, "Good flying, Sheppard. See you on the bridge."

Ryn smiled at him and responded as she got out of her chair while grabbing her knapsack, "Thank you Captain. I will get us ready to go."

Malcolm pushed the intercom and spoke, "LEXIA. I will see you now at Deck Thirteen."

* * *

As Camryn walked across the corridor of deck sixteen where the Captain's Yacht, the _Serenity_ , was docked, she nodded at each crewmember she passed. They recognized her as someone in command so they treated her with respect. Soon, she noticed a wide variety of different aliens onboard on the way to the turbolift. Bolian, Bajoran, Betazoid, Deltan, Vulcan and Klingon among other races that she has yet to see. This was a multi race crew of different alien species. This amused the El Aurian, but she kept it to herself.

Soon as the lift doors opened and she entered, she spoke to the computer while removing a hair piece tucked inside her hair, "Bridge."

The lift responded as she started moving up. Taking the bobby pin, she placed it into her mouth and took her braided pony tail. She started twisted it around into a tight bun before she removed the pin and placed it through to keep her bun tight. She had to look her best. When the doors opened and she entered, one of the enlisted onboard spoke, "Commander on deck!"

Cam was standing on the deck before the lift. She looked around inspecting each bridge members standing on the deck. Letting out a nod and placing her arms behind her back, she responded, "At ease. To your stations. Deckhand, give me a report."

The Deltan male, the one who announced her, approached Ryn as she walked toward the center of the bridge. He handed her a PADD while introducing himself, "Tamil Bryus. Senior Chief Petty Officer, Commander. Here is the manifest. All stations report ready. All maintenance and repair crew reports done."

Camryn nodded and responded dismissing him, "Good, thank you chief petty officer. Apprise the Chief Engineer onboard that we will start our engines soon for our first warp test."

Bryus nodded, "Yes Commander."

Cam's eyes met her first officer chair as she touched it. It felt cool, crisp to her touch. Taking her seat, she eased herself back into the chair. Looking ahead to the viewscreen, she noted the spacedock that was latched onto the ship. She waited for the one named Captain Malcolm Thomas to begin their first journey.

* * *

Meanwhile, both Malcolm and Lexia was around the small sphere on deck thirteen in the conference room. It was a bit darkened. The captain asked, "Is everyone settled in?"

LEXIA nodded as she replied, "Yes sir. All the major department heads have settled in. There were some damages to one of our holodecks but was easily repaired."

Malcolm responded with a nod, "Good. Has the crew settled in already? All the civilians in place?"

LEXIA nodded, "Yes sir. We are ready to go."

Malcolm ended the meeting with a nod, "Activate the AI Nexus and monitor her movement. I will attend to the bridge."

LEXIA vanished to the Main Engineering while the captain headed to the turbolift. He rode it straight to the bridge and got on as soon as Bryus spoke again, "Captain on the deck!"

Cam looked to her side as Malcolm took his place on his command chair. He nodded at her and she focused her attention to the viewscreen. Flipping the comm, she responded, "All decks, this is your XO speaking. We are about to go underway. All duty officers report to your stations."

She flipped the com again and spoke to the conn, "Lieutenant, take us out. Slowly."

Lieutenant Karo Jils, who was a Bajoran helmswoman, responded as she concentrated in moving the USS Nexus slowly out of her space dock. Soon, the sovereign class moved forward on impulse navigating through the other ships and small stations orbiting. Soon as the Nexus was out of orbit, Malcom spoke, "Take us to Bajor. Warp seven. Engage."

The Nexus vanished into warp as light engulfed the big ship.

* * *

The lift doors opened as Malcolm entered the darkened corridor of deck thirteen. There was still light showing him the way, but it wasn't as bright as the rest of the decks. It could be powered down for energy saving, but it still instills the feeling of privacy as if no other crew or civilian are allowed in the deck. The captain continued along the corridor into a room to his right. Next to the table, LEXIA was waiting for him.

LEXIA looked up as her hologram body shimmered once before she responded to his presence, "Captain."

"Lexia," Malcolm spoke as he nodded at her once, "Is she ready?"

LEXIA nodded and tapped the control on the side of the panel on the wall as she spoke, "Yes captain."

The panel separated from the wall as it revealed a bed. It retracted from the wall as light illuminated the room slightly. On the bed was an android in the image of LEXIA. It was her body. LEXIA spoke as she inspected her android body, "The Romanov type cybernetic body is ready and unique. She will operate at most situations when you require her on your away missions."

Malcolm spoke as he touched the android head feeling the coldness emanating from the body, "Impressive. It will hold up during stress?"

LEXIA spoke, "Yes. We will need to make sure that she holds well in holodeck simulations. The longest was twenty four hours, but I have confidence that I will improve the duration outside of the Nexus before she needs to be recharged."

The captain backed a bit from the bed as he made an order once, "Activate her."

The hologram nodded and placed her finger under the android's neck. She switched the component and the android activated as it rose up from the bed eerily. The android LEXIA stared back at the captain with its vacant eyes. It cocked its head and realigned its head back up to cock it again. Malcolm spoke, "Lexia?"

It opened its mouth once to speak but was unable to make a few words or sounds. It closed it and continued to stare at him. Malcolm tried again, "Do you know who I am?"

The android opened its mouth again and uttered a single word, "Lexia?"

The android was silent after a few more attempts of talking and cocking its head. Malcolm let out a sigh and looked at the hologram. The holo LEXIA responded checking it over, "I apologize Captain. I must have crossed a few wires. It…"

The captain shook his head and waved her off as he responded, "No need. I have one certain Chief Engineer who could figure it out himself. He did work on an android known as Data. Can it walk?"

Holo LEXIA responded once, "Yes."

"Good," he replied before being interrupted and looked up to listen to the comm from Lieutenant Karo. It was a message stating that he should meet the Commander in the airlock. They had arrived at Outpost 98. It ended as Malcolm finished responding to the hologram, "Have the android sent over Commander La Forge and assist him with the warp core configurations."

"Yes Commander," the holo Lexia responded as she focused her attention onto the android. Malcolm walked away from her and exited the room toward the lift.

* * *

 **Starbase** 98 was the last stop near Earth before the _USS Nexus_ continues her way toward Bajor on her first shakedown cruise. It took nearly a day and a half to get to this station, but several more weeks to go toward the space around Bajor. The station itself is manned by crewmen and the CO, Commodore Gerald Joshlin. He is half Bolian and half human. The CO, Captain Malcolm Thomas, and his first officer Camryn Sheppard are both waiting on the airlock in deck three for the new passengers they are awaiting. The CO of the DS9 near Bajor along with several other officers and non comms for the Terok _Nor-class_ station.

There are several round constructs around the station and several spires on the top. One of them has an airdock with an extended bridge gap from the station to the airlock of the _USS Nexus_

 **The** speeding star lights around the _sovereign-class_ slowed to a sudden stop as the _USS Nexus_ exit warp ending her day journey from Mars. The _Nexus_ slowed to an impulse as she slowly headed toward the large Starbase 98 station. On the bridge, the helm officer announced from her station, "We have arrived to Starbase 98. The commanding officer is hailing us."

Camryn remained seated on her CO chair as she responded with a direct tone looking at the viewscreen, "Slow us to impulse, lieutenant. Onscreen."

Lieutenant Karo Jils made a silent response as she nodded turning on the viewscreen. The face of an aged half Bolian with the commandore stripes appeared on the screen. He spoke, "We have been expecting you, _USS Nexus._ This is Commodore Gerald Joshlin.

Camryn responded, "Commodore, thank you for the welcome. This is Commander Camryn Sheppard. Permission to dock?"

Gerald nodded, "Granted, commander. I assume I will meet both you and the captain to the airlock?"

"Yes, sir," Cam responded as the view screen cut off. She turned to the lieutenant and finished, "Lieutenant, inform the Captain that we have arrived and meet at the airlock on deck three. You have the bridge."

"Yes, Ma'am," Karo responded and turned the comm, "Karo to Thomas. We have arrived to Starbase 98. The XO will meet you on deck three."

Soon as the comm was finished and the Nexus was guided to the top of the station where the airdock was located, Cam left the bridge and entered the lift as it continued toward deck three...

Camryn was standing by before the airlock. She was in her command dress uniform with her blonde hair tight and tied behind her head. Some cranial ridges were visible on her forehead, but not completely. She was El Aurian but she will always have a Klingon blood and soul as she could feel her strength within. Moments later her captain joined her side as she looked at him and smirked with a response, "You're late, captain."

Malcolm shrugged as he cleared his throat while adjusting his own command dress uniform, "Captain's prerogative…"

Cam smirked as she rolled her eyes and focused her attention to the door as she uttered under her breath, "Right..."

The door opened as several officers entered through. A Bajoran officer of an high rank was flanked by an Bolian as well as several other officers behind him. Malcolm spoke, "Greetings Colonel Juri. This is my first officer, Commander Sheppard. I am Captain Thomas. Welcome onboard the USS Nexus."

The Bajoran Lieutenant Colonel responded with a brief nod with his earring moving a bit from his ear, "Thank you Captain. It's good to be here."

He stepped aside as the Bolian commander spoke, "Commander Tok Kura. Starfighter Wing."

The Captain nodded and offered his hand toward the corridor, "Shall I give you the tour?"

The Bajoran colonel shook his head as he spoke, "I would rather go to my quarters first. Maybe a tour later?"

Camryn watched with her wary eyes at the people coming in from through the airlock. They were new and her Klingon side warned her to be on her toes in case if something happens. The Captain led them across the corridor and toward their quarters. They were to be docked for a few more minutes to load some more cargo from the starbase and then they will be gone. Soon.

* * *

It has been several days on the outpost that passed. Captain Thomas was in talks with several command personnel while they were transferring people or orders among each other across the station and the planet it was orbiting. Since then, the cargo bays of the Sovereign class, the USS Nexus, was filling up for either transportation or personal uses. Move civilian passengers came onboard as well for the journey. Many department leaders had finished with the upgrades or repairs they needed for their department, especially engineering and medical. The Nexus was a prototype. It required the needed substance for its voyage to be successful for her maximum years in her voyage in the galaxies.

It was time and all the personnel onboard were already in their positions. The Nexus pulled out and was about to proceed into the new horizon when the comm station received a hail. Lieutenant Aquiel Uhnari turned the comm and the words were loud and clear.

 _"Mayday, mayday. This is the Colony ship Othalla."_

As all on the bridge heard it, Ryn watched her commanding officer as Thomas quickly asked, "Where is this coming from?"

The officer on Ops responded, "It is coming from the badlands sir."

Thomas turned his head toward the viewscreen and asked, "Can we respond?"

"No sir. It's on a loop and repeats."

The captain turned to toward the comm station and responded, "Alright, Lieutenant, analyze the signal. Is it genuine? How old is this signal and what is the Othalla?"

The Haliian comm officer responded, "The signal is real but old. At least 200 years old. The ship…"

Lexia appeared on the bridge in an instant as if called forth. She responded with the information, "Is the colony ship. The Othalla. She went missing 200 years ago. Never reported for duty. She was classified missing in action. Since no bodies were recovered, it was assumed that they were lost in space."

Malcolm nodded at Lexia and turned to the viewscreen, "Well, then we shall be the one to respond to their 200 year old distress call no matter where they are. If there are survivors, it is our duty to render assistance. Commander, take us to the last known coordinates to where the signal is coming from."

"Yes sir," Ryn responded and turned to the conn station in the front of the bridge and continued, "Karo, take us to the signal. Maximum warp."

The captain finished as he walked off the bridge toward his ready room, "I will be in my ready room. You have the bridge Commander."

Rynn nodded as she took the reins while the USS Nexus left the station in warp.

* * *

 **Location:** Captain's Cabin  
 **Time:** Stardate June 10th 2393

"Mayday, mayday. This is the Colony ship _Othalla_."

Malcolm was listening to the message over again several times. Both Lieutenant Aquiel Uhnari and LEXIA were standing by waiting for his command. Looking at his comms officer, he questioned her, "This message is genuine? There are no mistakes?"

The Hailian nodded with her response, "No mistakes sir. I looked over it again from forward and backwards. It's two hundred years old."

"Uh, huh," the captain replied as he turned to LEXIA, "What kind of a ship is the Othalla? What are we looking at here?"

Lexia responded, "The Othalla was a colony ship that vanished two hundred years ago with all hands. There were searches among the sector where she was last heard of. It is near where the signal was located."

"Why now? Why doesn't the signal come on 200 years ago?"

The AI continued, "I do not know sir. I suspect that the signal was cut off when she vanished. When they were searching along the sector, they discovered some wreckage that was believed to be a part of the ship itself, but there were no other traces. No battle fights. Nothing. We will be almost to the last place in the sector where the signal is steady."

The captain nodded and responded, "Good. Make sure everyone is ready. I will be on the bridge. Dismissed."

They dispersed as LEXIA hologram vanished from the captain's quarters.

In the space between Starbase 98 and the badlands, light flashed once as the Sovereign class left warp. Upon exiting the warp field, the USS Nexus made a sharp 90 degree turn left toward the coordinates where the signal was coming from. There was nothing but stars across the section they were in. No planets nearby but a red super-giant was located several light years from their location.

Inside the ship on the bridge, the captain was seated in the middle of the bridge in his command chair. His XO was over in the science section of the bridge looking over Lieutenant Uhnari's work on the distress signal. They were getting close as the lieutenant was scanning the space in front of them. Cam's stance over the lieutenant's shoulder was straight with her hands behind her back as she was observing the communications officer's work.

She turned back to the viewscreen and spoke looking at the empty space before them, "We are getting close to where the signal is originating from."

Malcolm asked the question, "Is there anything out there? Debris?"

Camryn looked back at the comms officer as the lieutenant spoke up, "Nothing sir. There is nothing out there and the signal is still coming strong and steady."

"How far away are we?" Malcolm asked again.

"Only a couple klicks out, sir."

The ship continued her journey toward the signal. From a naked eye, something within the coordinates shifted a bit but no one could see it. Not for a moment. The captain spoke again to his XO, "Commander, prepare a probe and send her out…"

Before Cam had a chance to reply, a sudden jolt hit the ship as LEXIA's automated warning started up with klaxons blaring. The bridge and the entire ship went dark in an emergency red alert mode as Lexia's voice continued again ship wide. Both warning and helping people stay calm during the emergency. The captain shouted out as he gripped the chair, "Tac report!"

The tactical officer, Ensign Jaska Sun, responded in a hurried tone as his friend maintained her speed, "Sir we are being hit by some kind of energy. Something is opening up in front of us!"

Malcolm looked ahead in the viewscreen at some kind of energy forming and his eyes lit up as he recognized it, "A wormhole? All engines, reverse! Now!"

Lieutenant Jaro half shouted as she continued to hold her hands on the controls to try to pull back, but failing, "I am trying, sir. It's too late. They are pulling us in!"

As the energy formed, it became a rogue wormhole as it enveloped the entire ship and pulled them in. It then disappeared but the signal continued on intermittent. The _USS Nexus_ was being rushed forward with renewed energy and fast but the ship was much too big for the small wormhole. The sides of the deep hole was brushing against the hull causing damage and wreaking havoc on her main systems. However, LEXIA did her best to hold her together.

There was shouting and confusing on the bridge as the captain was shouting orders. Anyone standing including the XO rushed to their seats and kept hold as some of the stations were exploding. There were constant injuries and confusing among the decks as the Nexus continued screaming in pain being pulled against their will through. One of the energy strike flashes lanced across the Nexus's third nacelle atop the rear of the ship and exploded it.

For the next ten minutes that seemed longer ended abruptly as the wormhole spat them out. The Nexus tumbled out with smoke coming out of the ship and fires in several decks. It was soon extinguished but LEXIA was deactivated mainly to keep the ship from falling apart. The missing nacelle that was destroyed was leaking deuterium across space as she continued gliding across like a derelict.

Inside the ship was quiet and dark with some consoles flashing and exploding. The captain who was still seated in his chair groaned in pain as he woke up. He responded with a hoarse throat, "Report…"

There was still silence as Lexia was still in the background trying to save as many as she can from the damage to avoid casualties. Malcolm groaned again looking around looking for signs of life as he spoke again, "Report!"

The silence was deafening as everyone on the bridge was knocked out. Even the XO was face down on the floor with some debris atop her. The captian groaned as he gripped the chair trying to work out a headache that was forming in his head. The bridge lighting was half dark making it hard for him to see anything as some sparks continued to blow occasionally.

"Commander Sheppard..." Malcolm let out a groan trying to wake her...

 **END PROLOGUE**

(Chapter One will be coming soon, no worries. I just need to sort them together a bit first. Don't forget to review and comment :) )


	2. Chapter 1: Stranded and Broken

**Roxy is a new character whos this sole survivor of a human race that was left in the Gamma quaduant 200 years ago. She is played by a friend of mine and I just want to credit her as well cause she wrote some nice posts. She's Allienna in fanfiction.**

* * *

There were always silence within space. No one can hear a broken, derelic ship cry in pain as she continued to tumble. To spin into nothingness. It was only gravity holding her in place. From scattering apart into little molecules or atoms. The USS Nexus continued to drift. Leaking plasma and deurtorium in space. She was nearly broken in half. Most of her systems were down, but LEXIA, in all of her power, was holding on. Barely. So she shut her hologram matrix temporarily while she monitored from the LEXIA Matrix to maintain her systems. Keeping them from falling apart.

She was still missing her third nacelle as it was probably still stuck somewhere in the wormhole. Floating. Self destructing into tiny bits. LEXIA would have to craft a new nacelle, but for now forcefields were holding steady around the damaged part of the port to keep the plasma from continuing to pour out of the exposed conduit and from detonating the warp core. She relyed on the remaining two Nacelles to keep floating.

* * *

From engineering, Geordi was monitoring the cores as he had just finished the refits before they left. "doin better than I thought she would" he said to himself. 10 seconds later, he was launched backwards by the field, he stood up and looked around, checking on his staff. "everyone, grab a holding bar! Stay away from your consoles!" he yelled as he sat down, strapping himself into his chair.

Once the ship stopped lurching, he stood up to evaluate the situation in main engineering. Most of his crew was knocked out, or dead. Geordi immediately set to work shutting the engines down, or atleast the core. Only impulse for the sake of keeping the ship from exploding. He clicked his comm badge "Chief Engineer to Captain. Sir, it's a mess down here. You'll have to run on impulse until I can get Necelle three purged, and ensure the core won't overload."

"Chief Engineer to Captain. Sir, it's a mess down here. You'll have to run on impulse until I can get Necelle three purged, and ensure the core won't overload."

Malcolm was bleeding from his nose. As he wiped the blood off and winced painfully, he toggled the comm on his chair and responded to his chief of engineer, "Acknowledged chief. Do what you can to keep us together."

There was silence again from the comms. Amid the groaning among the rubbage as people started to rise, but they were hurt. There was life from his XO as Ryn grunted in pain as she tried to get up. With the debris atop her pinning her down, she let out another angry grunt. The captain immediently went to her aid as he lifted the strut about halfway. Rynn immediately placed her hand on the metal and pushed it off as she got out from under unharmed. Her muscles expanded as it strained under the weight. It was her Klingon side that saved her from being hurt aside from a few bruises and a hurt pride.

Rynn nodded as Malcolm helped her up, "I'm okay sir."

"You sure?" Malcolm asked. When she nodded, the captain responded, "Alright. Let's get everyone together and see what the damage is. Where we are and..."

"Sir," the tac officer, Jaska Sun, spoke up as she groaned, "I believe I can answer that."

The viewscreen was in a static for a few moments and then it slowly came back to life as they looked at the stars before them. They looked different. Unfamiliar. The captain questioned, "Where are we?"

She shook her head and responded, "I don't know exactly sir, but sensors report that we have gone 70,000 light years from home."

Ryn narrowed her eyes are Jaska and let out a snarl as she responded, "What?"

Jaska spoke as her words were resolute, "The wormhole sent us somewhere far from home. We can't get back..."

Ryn let out a low growl from under her throat, but Malcolm spoke easing the tension, "We will take care of that in a minute, but right now we need to tend to our wounds. Commander, have all decks respond and have the department heads meet me at the ready room asap."

Rynn looked at him and nodded once, "Yes Sir."

* * *

In the Mess Hall observational lodge, it was a mess. The bartender, Samus Thraan, groaned as he pushed the fallen table from above him. He stood up and looked around his mess hall at the mess the wormhole made. At first, it looked beautiful with blue and white lighting flashing around. And then it turned deadly when several things exploded outside of the ship including the third nacelle of the Nexus. The bartender walked around the room amid the groaning and helped them to their feet. He went to the other two people on the floor as he noticed a security officer lying unconscious on the floor.

Samus ran over to him and responded to the counselor on the floor also, "Counselor, help me get the lieutenant to sickbay. Unless you got a medical tricorder."

The counselor responded holding one out, "I have one. I hope it wasn't damaged"

She bit her lip as she she pulled out her medical tricorder and set it to diagnosis. She scanned him to figure out what was wrong and to see if the device was working.

Samus looked over her tricordor readings. The security officer didn't look good and he needed to get into surgery. The bartender looked around his mess hall but none of the medical technitians were here yet. They were busy elsewhere. He tapped his comm and spoke, "Lexia, we request an emergency beam-out for an injured to sickbay. Prepare to receive him."

A chime sounded as Lexia's voice came from his badge, "Of course. I have a bed ready for him. Beam him over soon as he is ready."

Samus looked at counselor and asked her, "You got this, doc?"

She bit her lip as she read the readings. She switched it to vital readings. She then transported the report to Lexia's mainframe. "Of course," she replied.

As the security officer disappeared via the transport, the counselor turned to ask the bartender, "Do you have any serve injuries Seamus? I'm sure some of us will need a drink when this ordeal is over."

Samus gave her a look. He never met her before and she never met him. Yet, she knows his name somehow. Maybe from the files. She had good memory. However, she mispronounced his name. Letting out a sigh, he blinked once more before speaking, "It's Samus, not Seamus. Don't worry, not a lot of people get my name the first time round."

He winked at her once before letting out a slight heh in his voice. Looking around, he noted the damage in his mess hall and looked at her before continuing, "I will be fine. My body is more resilient than you can believe. What about you? We can talk about the drinks later once we clean up the mess around here in my mess hall. Help the injured if you can."

She wondered if anyone else had been in the cafe when the wormhole hit. She bit her lip, "This is a great big mess and we might have other survivors in here. I'm sorry about the mispronouncing of your name Samus, I must have misread your file"

She decided to help the bartender with the mess hall, she was sure anyone who had suffered minor injuries would find thier way here. If they ran out of room in the med. bays ran out of room, then this would be the logical next area, for the injured due to the amount of room in here.

Samus shrugged as he waved her off, "Ah it's alright. Don't worry about it."

Both of them continued around the observational lounge to clean up debris and helped the injured. Sam looked up to the window with the space beyond it. He was fortunate that the windows held or all of them would be vented into space and perished. That would be bad. Apparently Lexia was good enough to keep the ship together and held up through most of the impacts. She was a good, solid ship. Samus was correct to chose this ship. It was filled with promises for the old, aged traveler.

Taking the table, the bartender lifted it off another injured crewmember and scanned him with the medical tricorder to asses his injuries. The man was lucky than most, but he remained on his side for a bit to keep him calm.

She found some survivors under some debris. She accessed his injuries and used the triorder after Samus had finished using it on his survivor. The child didn't have internal bleeding so she sent her on her way.

* * *

Back at the bridge, Malcom listened to the engineer's voice on the comm. Soon as Malcolm got the report from his chief of engineering, no response was required. He was satisfied as he nodded at his chief of helm. Karo Jils adjusted herself on the chair and activated the console. It beeped as the ship slowly started moving forward in impulse. Malcolm turned to look at his XO. Cam grunted a bit painfully as she tried to move, but hid it. He noticed something was wrong so he asked, "Commander, you good?"

Ryn turned to him and nodded hiding her pain just barely, "Yes sir, I'm fine. It's nothing."

The captain shook his head as he responded tapping her once on the shoulder, "Doesn't look like nothing. Don't hide it. You may be half Klingon, but its only your half that's good. Report to sickbay. I need a report from the chief of medical anyhow, so that should be your first goal."

Ryn winced abet painfully and then lightly let out a growl before sighing giving in, "Yes sir. On my way."

She limped a little as she tried to straighten up and walked toward the turbolift. At least the lift started working. "Deck 7" she responded as the lift hummed to life and started moving.

* * *

Lexia, in her programed medical white gown, walked around the large sickbay and prepped the beds for the injured. Soon, after a few seconds, the injured officers started pouring in. When she checked into the sickbay office, she saw the chief of medical sprawled across his desk. Quickly she ran over to him and touched his neck for a pulse, but she didn't feel anything. She scanned him with her tricorder, but there was no breath of life from the Chief Meidcal officer. His neck and spine was snapped in two from the impact and he was dead.

Using her internal chrometer, she prepped the report and uploaded it automatically to the Lexia Matrix. Upon returning to the bay, LEXIA recieved the unconcious body of the security lieutenant. She proceeded to treat his injuries. His injuries didnt seem that bad.

* * *

It was her Klingon side that pushed the hurt Camryn along the damaged corridor of deck 7, but it was her human side that was crying in pain. She had internal injuries and maybe several broken ribs. It was nothing that her part Klingon physiology could handle, but it was better if a medical professional would be there to asses her injuries. As she entered the main sickbay, she noticed all the patients scattered among the doctors and nurses trying to help them. There were a lot of injuries. She looked around for the chief of medical, but he wasn't seen anywhere. Seeing Lexia, Ryn silently groaned in pain as she limped toward her.

Lexia turned to her and noticed that Ryn was injured. She directed her to the bed and started scanning her before giving her the diagnosis, "You have a cracked rib and several internal bleedings. Lie down."

"Touch me again and I will destabilize your matrix." Ryn protested in her tough demeanor as she growled at the hologram.

Lexia responded as the bio bed activated once the commander laid down on her back with the sides activating making an oval cover, "It is impossible to destabilize my matrix. I am defended against such attacks. This won't take long."

The commander spoke with a question, "Where is the chief of medical?"

"Dead," was Lexia's blunt direct statement as she directed the medical bed to attend to her injuries.

Camryn's injuries wasn't bad. If she wasn't part Klingon, Lexia would have to put Ryn down for a week for rest and recuperation from her injuries. Because of her Kliingon side, Ryn had a strong exoskeleton and would have been able to continue on fighting even if her ribs were broken. So as long as Ryn doesn't push herself, she will be fine.

"Damn," Ryn uttered under her breath as she continued, "What happened? Who's next in line?"

The medical bed continued beeping as Lexia continued with her report, "I found him dead in his office sprawled atop the desk with a broken spine and neck. Lieutenant Suri Kin is next in line."

Camryn continued to listen and responded a bit impatiently, "Well, where is she?"

Lexia continued her direct monotone with the explanation, "She is awaiting transfer in Deep Space Nine when we transfer personnel along with the other half of the medical and science crew.

Cam stared at her and let out a snarl as she asked, "How bad?"

As Lexia inputted several final buttons on the oval, she finished her direct statement, "We will be fine as long as we can get somewhere to regain our footing. I can handle the medical needs of the crew, but I need that personnel transfer soon as possible."

Cam responded, "I don't think its happening doc. Not for a while. Are we done?"

"Yes, but you must remain for several more moments until your injuries heal." Lexia responded before moving off. Cam let out a slight growl at the hologram, but decided that some rest could do for a bit.

Lieutenant Jaska Sun, the tactical officer on the bridge, approached the captain with the PADD. She responded, "Here is the report of all decks you asked for."

The captain responded accepting the PADD, "Thank you." He looked over and with his grim expression he tapped his badge speaking to the LEXIA Matrix, "Lexia, when Sheppard is ready, will you have her report to the ready room as soon as possible? Something has happened and we need to discuss our plan of action."  
He ended the comm as LEXIA didnt need to say anything.

Lexia walked among the screens on the wall with her holographic eyes scanning the information. They had a lot of injuries and casualties. Her expression was blank. At wartime or something that happened drastically, she is programmed to not show feelings. She understood the difference between right and wrong, but she can't afford to get emotional. Most of the department heads were either dead or mission including the chief of medical and the head of Strategic Operations. She knew both were dead. At least one wasn't a corpse and the other was scorched beyond recognition. Records did show that he was there when the explosion happened.

Carrying the PADD, she continued reading it back and forth keying a few commands and entering new data. She continued on along the beds as a couple injured continued to moan in pain. With whatever nurses were left, they did their best to treat their injures, but some were already bad off. Badly scarred or beyond recognition that they didn't survive. At least Lexia had the best medical assistance and technology available to help save most of them.  
Looking up, she noticed Nurse Lerner checking over Ryn and discharging her. Keeping a mental note to herself, she will have to receive her report about Ryn's health and her discharge stuff.

Cam stood on her feet and ignored the nurse as she looked around again for Lexia. Finding her, she approached as Lexia spoke, "You feeling alright, commander?"

Cam let out a light snarl as she responded in a soft, but harsh tone, "I swear, if one more person asks that, I will gut them. I am fine."

Lexia nodded as she took out her medical tricorder and scanned her one more time to be sure, "Noted commander. The captain wants you back to the ready room for a briefing. I have already uploaded my report to include what happened to the chief of medical to my matrix. Command Lexia will apprise the captain of the situation."  
The half Klingon nodded with a response, "Good. Do your best, Lexia."

The commander left sickbay feeling fresh and stronger than ever towards the bridge once again.

* * *

Soon as both Captain Thomas and Lieutenant Sun entered the observational lounge, they sat down and waited for a few seconds. Lexia appeared in front of the table as Camryn entered through the rear door on the other side of the room. They were on time. Before captain could start the briefing, Lieutenant Sun spoke without being called on. That was something he needed to discuss with her. About protocols. They were important. However, Lexia had the answer for her.

Lexia turned to the tactical officer and responded, "I operate at a full capacity, Lieutenant Sun. I have already done so."

The captain cleared his throat as he raised his finger for Lexia to stop for a minute. He stood and walked toward the screen to turn it on with a response before turning back to the small group, "Before we do this, we need to figure out a plan of action. We are lost somewhere 70000 light years from Earth in the Gamma Quadrant. So we need to answer the first question. The ship. Lexia, how bad is it?"

Lexia responded, "Not so. Once I had stablized most of the systems, I will continue to coordinate and help with the repairs. The ones that were mostly hit were the third Nacelle and the warp systems. We nearly lost the warp core, but both Lieutenant La Forge and i managed to shut it down. He wasn't able to be here because he is currently busy with the repairs, but he will give you his report later at his own time."

"How long will it take?" Ryn participated with a question of her own.

Lexia responded as smoothly as her matrix could supply, "Depending on how we will get the materials for repair, I would say weeks. Maybe months. Captain, if you will allow me, I will answer Lieutenant Sun's question.""

Malcolm nodded, "Go ahead."

The AI continued the best as she can, "While I was working on overseeing the repairs, my other matrix program started scanning the space beyond this ship. There are two main sections that the Nexus is close to. One is an unidentified space station several klicks from here and the other is a moon not far from where we are. Just an impulse away with the captain's yacht if we need to do an away team for some investigation. We need the spare parts. I also discovered the location of the signal. Its intermittent and emanating from a local area were the Othalla is. I suggest we get started on the away team."

The captain nodded as he continued to listen and process his thoughts. He was also waiting to see what else Ryn and Sun had to say next.

The lieutenant spoke without hesitation, "Well we will need to form a 4 man team. We don't know what type of atmosphere we have out there. So we will need some one on the med team out with you. Does the ship counselor have real med training? If not send one of the nurses that is not dealing with a mass amount of injuries. We dont know what type of poisons or wildlife out there so we will also suggest security. I suggest using an expert in communications or a science officer and of course Commander Ryn to lead them. Unless you can think of a better team yourself Commander. I believe this will be the most optimal team to go out and explore."

Malcolm was impressed with Lieutenant Sun already. She made good suggestions, however he allowed his XO to take the ball. The commander responded to the officer, "I agree with the choices. Seems like a perfect team. I will talk to the counselor to bring her along into the away team. She does have some first aid experience. Lexia, why don't you clear both Lieutenant Alexander and Ensign Farrel for the away team. Have them to be ready in thirty minutes to get their gear together as well as giving them the update on their MO. Have them report to the shuttle bay in deck 16."

Lexia nodded with confirmation as her hologram shimmered slightly uploading the information to the matrix, "Of course, Commander."

Cam looked at Malcolm and the captain nodded, "Looks like you got your team ready. Good luck Commander. Dismissed."

Ryn responded as she excused herself from the briefing, "Yes Sir."

Malcolm turned back to Lexia and asked, "What about the medical situation? How bad is it?"

"We have a lot of casualties sir, including the chief of medical and we need to dock this ship for repair soon. However, I suggest we search the station first to see if we should salvage it."

Malcolm was still in his deep thought as he continued "How long do we have with the oxygen and power situation?"

Lexia continued, "At least a week, sir and it will take hours on impulse to reach the station."

Jaska Sun added, "This may be redundant, but what type of damages are we looking at and where are they located, Lexia. It seems we will need to conserve oxygen and go on limited electricity if we only have a week. I am sorry if I am out of line here."

She shifted her weight and relized she was still holding her heels. She needed to know how bad the engines and shields were, along with any damages to the firing systems. This was in case of attack from a hostile ship. They did not know if they were in a peaceful area either as of yet. Lowering her eyes, Lieutenant Sun waited for a response.

Lexia nodded as she responded to the Lieutenant's comment, "You are correct, Lieutenant, and I believe I can handle the power conservation. We will have to wait for the away team to return with the necessary salvage materials needed for the repair of this ship. Meanwhile, we will have to organize teams, both search and repair. We will also need to reach this station as we might need to rely on it for rest and recuperation to regain our energy. We need a base of operations and this station might be the answer to that. We must be cautious though, because we do not know what to expect. The derelict station is a bit far out of reach and drifting slowly. We must remain here to wait for the team to return."

The captain nodded, "Agreed. We will need some security teams for that as well. When the Lieutenant returns, he will have to assist with preparing the teams to search the station while we prepare the engineering teams to salvage and search the station. To activate it. Do you know what type is it?"

Lexia shook her head, "I do not know. The station is a bit further away for my scans to reach her. My long range scanners has been damaged, so i only have the short range active. I was fortunate enough to discover this moon close by."

Malcolm spoke to his operations officer, "Lieutenant Sun, do you have any other questions or anything to add? Otherwise, this briefing is over for now. We should get back to work. Thank you for being here."

Jaska nodded without responding as she left to return to her station. LEXIA vanished to her Matrix. Commander Sheppard left to the shuttlebay to form her away team.

* * *

 _17 hours previously..._

It was the aftermath of the crash after the Nexus broke its hold when the wormhole spat her out into the other end of the universe. Everything in Jackson's room was a mess. Things were on the floor and some were broken. Jackson groaned as he lifted some of the debris off him. He was unhurt and confused. His strong body kept him from being hurt as he was made for incidents like this. As he stumbled toward the window, he noted the stars were different. The constellations weren't the same. Thats when he knew that things had changed. They were in the unknown area of space.

The historian wasn't hurt in the crash, but he limped a bit toward the desk and placed it upright again. Taking the shards of his damaged artifact, he tried to put them together. But it was broken so he left it on the ground. He would have to clean up a bit. Walking toward his bathroom, he noted some blood on his forehead. It wasn't a bad gash. Just a few headaches. Turning the water on, he let it warm up a bit before splashing himself off the blood and grime. Letting out a groan, he stayed there for a few more seconds to get his breath back. He was born a soldier. His father was, but not Jackson. He turned from the path and instead walked the line of a scholar. He was technically a combat archeologist because if he wasn't, he'd be panicking right about right now and demanding repercussions to be made. However, his soldier side told him to stand by and see what happens next. And he will do. Stand by...

 _13 hours earlier..._

Jackson was lounging around his quarters. He was reading up a few things and standing by until he would hear from the captain on whats going on. Or what he should do. Right now, he had nothing better to do. He wasn't an on duty kind of soldier. As a civilian, it was his prerogative to sit around and let the officers do all the work. There was a reason why he was still a civilian. So that he isn't restricted by ranks and being ordered around. Its his right to do what he wants to do. His father disowned him when he turned civilian. It was like he was labeling Jackson an enemy of state, but eventually he had a change of heart once he understood why his own son wanted to do this. Still, the best Jackson could do was to stand by. That is, until Lexia appeared at the foot of his bed.

Jackson was startled as he pulled back or recoiled while protecting himself as he pulled out his Type 2 phaser hidden from under his pillow. He pointed it at Lexia which Lexia stared back while cocking her head. She responded, "Civilans aren't supposed to have weapons. Did you steal that from the armory?"

Jackson looked at her and scoffed as he deactivated it and placed it down, "How little do you know? It'd mine. Modified and made specially for me. The captain approved it for me to carry it onboard as long as I can conceal it. Who are you and what are you doing in my quarters?"

Lexia responded, "Giving you something to do. I noted in your log that you were originally slated to be on Bajor, is this correct?"

Jackson eased up on his tense, strong body as he spoke, "Yes Ma'am. Can I ask, what happened? I have a feeling that's not happening anytime soon?"

The hologram continued, "Call me Lexia. We have been pulled through by a rogue wormhole and we are 70000 light years from Earth. We are in the Gamma Quadrant."

Jackson continued, "I see. What will you have me do then? I can't do anything from here because this is not my vessel and I am not serving on her. How would I serve you anyways?"

Lexia responded with a nod, "I know, which makes the next part easier. We found a moon. I found her on the scans and we do not know much about it. But it has lots of vegetation and ruins. I looked over your bio and you are perfect for this type of moon. You were a soldier. Trained yourself in many harsh environments. You have been everywhere in the galaxy, even to planets with volatile atmosphere or Zero G environments. You have been in many combat and know many different types of martial arts. You are a survivor. If anyone could scout out this moon, that person would be you?"

"Wait, wait. Wait," the archeologist waved his hand up and spoke as he shook his head, "You're asking me, Jackson Weaver, a civilian to go to a completely unknown and possibly hazardous place alone to survive and scout for you. You don't know me. You don't know my life. You know that I don't take orders from anyone, I don't answer to anyone and I go my way. Right?"

Lexia nodded as she responded bluntly, "Yes. This is entirely your choice. If you do not want to do this, then I will take my leave."  
Jackson smiled a bit as his lips curled into a smirk, "Alright, now I'm interested. This is getting fun. How do I sign up? Nothing else better to do, right?"  
As Lexia spoke, she had several PADDs appear on the foot of his bed, "Good. This is the information we have gathered from the moon. It does not have a name yet. I suggest you read up and take what you need to survive there. When the time is right, I will let you know.

As Lexia vanished, Jackson let out a sigh as he took up one of the PADDs to start reading it. This was just the beginning of a journey for him.

 _Current Stardate..._

Later, as he was taking the bag from the foot of his bed, Jackson checked inside to make sure it had everything he needed. Some survival stuff like Thermal blankets, some water canteen, some flint and steel for firestarting. Jackson took it a personal rule to not rely on starfleet technology for everything because half won't work. Or wouldn't last long anyways. He also packed some rations for food, but to conserve because he may have to hunt for food as well. Taking a bow from the bed, he compacted it and placed it secured inside his back. He kept his pack lightweight as it had several other pockets for storage as well. He also took along some small holo emitters for extra storage and a small starfleet device that was capable of emitting some information from where he is to the ship so he can keep them updated. He also had a starfleet holographic camera in there too so that he can keep recorded pictures and video for logging. It was important for him to log and record where he has been.

Finally, he removed his phaser from the bed and toggled it on standby. He placed it into his pack and zipped the bag. Looking at the mirror, he noted his camo civilan clothes and a hoodie to keep him warm while he would be on the moon. Putting the bag on his back, he left his quarters and headed for the shuttlebay.

* * *

Lexia reappeared in deck 13 next to the bed with her android lying atop it. She scanned it with her programming as her eyes turned grayish again. It reverted to normal as she touched the button below her neck at the lower right. It activated her body and it rose to a seating position as it turned its head to look at the hologram. Lexia responded, "Are you ready?"

The android cocked its head and spoke with one singular word, "Yes."

Lexia continued with her statement, "You will meet Commander Sheppard at Deck 6 for an away mission. Do you have any questions?"

The Lexia android processed the information in its memory circuits. It held tons of information. Yet, it cocked its head again and spoke with a question, "Will Malcolm Thomas know about this?"

The hologram continued bluntly, "He does not need to know. You will do as you are programmed to do. You will be my eyes and ears in every missions off the ship. Do you have any questions?"

The android continued processing the information and spoke again, "What will happen to Malcolm Thomas?"

Lexia responded again to her android, "Nothing. Leave him to me. You will do as you are programed to do. Any other questions?"

The android was silent and Lexia was satisfied as she concluded, "Then you will get up and go to Commander Sheppard for the away mission. Once you have returned to this ship, return to your station and be uploaded."

The Lexia android got up from her bed and walked across the room toward the dark corridor. It continued toward the lift and entered. The lift automatically moved and headed toward deck 6.

* * *

As the lift reached deck 6, Camryn exited it and walked down the corridor. It was dark with the emergency lightnings still on. She hoped the shuttlebay wasnt too damaged, although she did expect the place to be shipshape. The sovereign class was after all the toughest ship. She knew that as she was on the Enterprise E at one point. It was a strong sovereign class. Taking the corner of the corridor, she entered the main shuttle bay as the doors opened and closed. She observed the huge bay with the shuttles neatly tucked into their parking place. Among the shuttle bay were several debris laying around as the engineers rushed to work on moving them and repairing damaged consoles or conduits.

The one Camryn wanted was a Type 8 shuttlecraft. It was a medium short range shuttle that they required for this away mission. With two pilots and six passengers, the Apollo was a tough and sturdy craft for them. It has a large enough cargo hold for the parts they needed to salvage if possible from the Othalla. That is assuming there was any left. This expedition could take several days, but it will be enough. She had already informed the following teammembers to join her, Lieutenant Ben Jakashi for security, Lieutenant Aquiel Uhnari for science, and Ensign Tanya Shaol for medical.

Walking over to the nearby locker, she retrieved several things they might need for the away team. The shuttlebay technicians bustled about working to prepare the Apollo for this short journey to the moon below.

Karo Jils exited the shuttlecraft with a PADD containing the stats. She walked toward Camryn holding it out, "Commander? Here're the report."

Cam turned and accepted the PADD as she responded while handing her the case filled with the required supplies, "Thank you, Lieutenant. You're coming with as you are piloting for this mission."

Karo nodded as she took the case, "Yes ma'am, thank you for the opportunity."

After when her pilot returned to the shuttle, that was when her teammembers started pouring into the shuttlebay. Each one of them exited into the Apollo to wait for her. However, before she could follow them, an Lexia android appeared from out of her eyesight. She was surprised and bit perturbed. She was checking the final things on the check list on her PADD for the stuff she needed in this mission. She looked up to see an Android approach her. It looked like Lexia, but she wasn't the hologram. It was her body. Cam heard reports about it, but it wasn't finished then. Now it was. She spoke, "Lexia?"

The android responded, "I am Lexia's program. She is stored inside me and I have her backups. I was asked to join your away mission, Commander."  
Cam spoke nodding at it, "Right. Why wasn't I notified? Why didn't the captain tell me?"

The android continued, "Only those that are on the need to know, commander. The captain made it important that he sends me out for a trial run, but to not tell anyone yet.".

Ryn made a slight snarl. She hated anyone who tried to be secretive. Letting out a derisive snort, the commander rolled her eyes and waved it toward the shuttle, "Well then, come on. We don't have all day."

The android responded thinking to add something, "Might it interest you that I have been run and tested against combat situations. My body has advanced kinetic armor and energy absorption rate. I am impervious to most damages and able to lift more than a ton. I am also shielded to most thermal and radiation damage as well as self repair of my body."

The half Klingon shrugged not really amused, "Don't know. Don't care. Go on, android. Get in the shuttle before I lose my temper."

The android stared at her and cocked her head. It turned swiftly and headed straight for the shuttle leaving the commander to scowl at the back of the android irritated while boring a hole in the back of it with her sharp eyes. She finally ignored her as she tapped his badge, "Captain, we're ready to go."

The clear voice of the captain came through, "Good. Keep me apprised. Good luck."

When the commander too the last bag and headed toward the shuttle, she noted a civilian approaching her. She questioned him, "What are you doing here? This is an restricted area."

Jackson approached her in his camo clothing and somewhat of an armored with a flex mesh texture that helps him bled in well with the environment. He shrugged as he adjusted the strap of his pack on his back, "Lexia sent me. I'm sure she told you?"

Ryn narrowed her eyes and glowered a bit as she spoke hastily, "Lexia did what?"

He responded feeling a bit guilty as he retreated a step, "Ah, I apologize, commander. I'm Jackson Weaver, resident Archeologist and explorer. Also a scholar and a soldier. The place you're going. The moon in question is an unknown, so I'm pretty much your best man to scout out the area without loss of life."

Ryn stared at him unamused and retorted, "Don't underestimate the training of starfleet officers. I'm sure any one of my security guys could handle a little scouting mission. This is mainly what Lieutenant Jakashi is for."

Jackson raised his hand a bit and waved it once as he responded gently in his British accent, "And I'm sure he and his fellow officers are highly trained for this sort of mission, but they do not have the knowledge and the unrecorded history of the ancients we have yet to encounter. My fear is that their training usually includes the shoot first and ask questions later. My goal is to ask first before I decide whether to shoot or not. That ways. If there is a danger, then I will give you the warning first before I get killed myself and then your officers will take care of the rest. Besides, I also have the military training and survival instincts like my father had for this kind of mission. So, in short, I am your man. Here is my bio, commander."

Ryn made a humph sound as she accepted the PADD and skimmed it over. She let out a sigh and nodded, "Get in, Jackson. Don't make me regret this."  
Jackson gave his best smile and saluted her briefly as he responded, "You won't ma'am. I'll keep you people nice and updated."

As he turned and walked off, Ryn gave a slight sigh and shook her head as she rolled her eyes muttering to herself, "This is going to be a long day..."

Soon as everyone boarded, Lexia went to the back compartment of the shuttle that seats six passengers. It was cramped and next to the cargo hold that was currently sitting empty from where they were sitting. They weren't meant for warfare as they were just a salvage mission. For to reinforce USS Nexus and keep her stablized so she can make her next move to the derelict space station that was just a bit out of their way.

Lexia started to brief the team as she spoke up, "This mission is simply to investigate the source of the signal and to find the fated Othalla that seemed to have crashed onto the moon nearby. At least, that was distress signal. Lieutenant Uhnari, that is your job. To help trace the signal so we can find the ship and salvage what we can from both her databanks and her materials that we need for the Nexus. Lieutenant Jakashi, once we land, it will be your duty to set up our perimeter. Counselor Shoal, keep the first aid handy. We will not know what to expect once we land on the moon, so be prepared for the unexpected."

She then took her seat ignoring that the civilian, Jackson Weaver, was here too. The android had nothing to say to him other then the fact that he knows what to expect or probably expect.

After hearing Lexia speak and finishing her briefing, Jackson smirked as he looked at his team. He responded, "Jackson Weaver. So guys, you ready for this?"

He placed his pack on the floor and took out his PADD. Zipping it close, he skimmed over a few pictures and read the description. It was encrypted and sent from Lexia, the hologram. She was mysterious in her own way. At least, it was something about the mission that caught his eye. Lexia also traced some kind of energy signature, but it was weak and emanating from some direction far from Othalla's position. That was his job in this team. To discover what the signal is and figure out what it does. It could hold the answer for them to get home, or it could be something else. It could be an unlimited source of energy for the ship to use to get home. Or maybe to open a rift or something. He doesn't know.

What he knows though is that Lexia hasn't told anyone that particular information yet. It's all hush hush. Now, Jackson would be right to be suspicion of an AI's involvement in this secrecy, so maybe its for a good reason. Maybe she doesn't want to tell everyone to get their hopes up only to find out its all a lie. That it's something else. Maybe Lexia is doing this for the right reason. To keep secrets from everyone. After all. That is what Starfleet is anyways. To Jackson. To keep secrets from its allies for a purpose. For whatever purpose.

The shuttle started up as it slowly went awake while Jackson was anticipating to start his own mission on the moon for Lexia. No...for Starfleet or whatever it stood for.  
A voice on the comm activated on Ryn's console, "You have a go Commander. Godspeed."

Ryn acknowledged the comm and switched it as she implemented the startup sequence to bring the Apollo out of the bay. Lieutenant Karo Jils was at her side as the main shuttle pilot bringing the shuttle completely out. The Apollo rumbled to life as she slowly swiveled around ninety degrees left and slowly made her way across the bay while the deckhands and technicians stood by watching while monitoring her. Soon the Type 8 shuttle left the bay and headed out deep into space away from the Nexus toward the signal emanating from the nearby moon. Jils responded to confirm Ryn's concerns, "We are only five hours at max speed from the moon."

Ryn nodded and responded into the comm system, "It will take at least five hours till we get to our destination. I suggest we get ourselves prepared. You have what you need from the storage, so I suggest you get your needs prepared and ready to go.

She shut off the comm and concentrated to her scanning and mapping of the space in between the Nexus and the planetary body.

* * *

 **Roxy, Sole Survivor  
Abandoned Moon ' _Ryruk_ ', Planet ' _N'tusara_ '**  
 **Seventeen Hours previously**

From atop the hill overlooking the ruins of the Naiad city , Sergeants Wilner and Clines sat exhausted with their backs against the large boulder while Roxy and Cali planned their next move. Roxy wanted to split up the group to make it harder for the military to find them—easier to hide two than four. Cali grumbled about it but agreed. From their vantage point they could see a handful of the streets in the city were clear while the others were clogged with rubble or trash; they couldn't tell yet.

They took Clines and Wilner into the city. Cali didn't want any harm to come to them after they parted ways. Roxy's motivation was simple: she didn't want Cali to worry.

It had passed midday, but the heat from the planet was still beating down on them. Clines and Wilner struggled in it. Cali nearly dragged Clines the last bit down the hill.

Navigating through the streets became more difficult as they edged into the city, but it made for better cover. Debris was strewn everywhere: broken furniture, hollowed out vehicles, workers huts missing their doors, heaps of paper, two downed hovercopters, broken glass. Cali searched the vehicles along the way until she found one containing a mini map and pocketed it. The volume of spears, arrows and other weapons littering the ground was the most unsettling thing about the city—some were rusted through and some hardly tarnished. Whatever the two peoples of the Colony were fighting over was still an ongoing issue. It did not comfort them.

The streets directly ahead of them contained the most structurally intact buildings that remained. Shadows flitted in front of the windows. The streets were quiet. Roxy stopped the group. It didn't feel right.

Cali looked to her, seeming to understand. "How do we know they're not already here?" She was terrified of the workers, ugly beasts hardly human any longer.

Roxy nodded. She remembered that her Marines had had bases all over the place. She could only imagine if any were left now.

They backtracked and swept silently through the city, searching for a place to take shelter. Entire blocks were piles of cement and brick. Freestanding doorways led to nowhere. A sand-worn backhoe sat useless in the middle of the street, the articulated arm having fallen off. In her previous life, Roxy had seen these used as excavators during rescue efforts. With only one in use to dig people free, the death toll must have been high.

They found a concrete pad over the basement of a blown out workers industrial building. It wasn't sealed, and a jagged gap in the cement was large enough to crawl through. Roxy knelt and listened. She stuck her head in the gap quickly, leaving it only long enough to sense if there was someone inside.

Cali tried to stop her. "Roxy, I'll look. I—"

Roxy got to her feet, hands going automatically to her hips. She quirked a brow at Cali.

"My mistake. _Of course you can see in the dark_." Cali feigned exasperation, but a small smile crept through.

Declaring the basement empty of their enemy, Roxy went down first to get a better look. Pipes ran the length of the ceiling on two sides. Supporting beams were scattered throughout. Situated against opposite walls stood a series of cement archways holding latched wooden doors.

She climbed back out, tossing a few dead rats out ahead of her. Clines leapt backward with a disgusted noise, nearly falling over. Cali pressed her lips tight, trying to contain her laughter. Smirking, Roxy watched Cali struggle until she faked a cough, covering her grin with one hand.

One at a time they dropped down into the basement. Roxy pried the latches off two of the doors that led into brick-lined storage spaces. As she pulled the first door open, the infuriated squeak of old hinges echoed through the room. Wilner and Clines were positioned in the space furthest from the elements, while Roxy chose a space for her and Cali close to the opening.

Cali offered to be the lookout while Roxy slept. She needed the sleep less. Roxy wasn't convinced. "You're injured."

Cali frowned. "I'm fine."

"I doubt that." She had seen the way Cali favored one side.

Cali's face softened. "Really I'm fine."

Roxy rolled her eyes and didn't answer; there was no need to.

Cali looked pleased with herself, which Roxy found both irritating and endearing. Cali pulled a crate under the opening and sat down. The wince she tried to hide did not escape Roxy's notice, but she kept quiet. Roxy passed her a bow and quiver before dropping a blanket near Cali's feet. She crouched down, rolling onto her back, and positioned it beneath her head. Cali glanced down, brow furrowed. "You don't trust me?"

Roxy shook her head. "I like it here." She couldn't articulate that she didn't want to sleep in a cold corner by herself again, how Cali's presence comforted her.

Hours later, Roxy woke up and decided to investigate the surrounding area. After sunset, the temperature dropped and their temporary home grew cold, likely too cold for Clines and Wilner to survive there very long. Cali protested. Roxy insisted she keep watch because Wilner and Clines were in no shape to do anything but sleep.

"I won't be gone long." Roxy pulled herself up through the opening, effortless, before the argument started again.

It was a trap, as simple as that, the immense explosion that threw Roxy to the ground only seconds after she had climbed out of their shelter told her as much. The workers, or Wolga as they were known locally often used crude explosives in the past to clear land or bring down trees and now they had used it to good effect.

Without a trace of emotion, Roxy knew it was pointless in going back…her comrades would never have survived that inferno and she knew what she had to do. Survive. One by one, over the next three weeks, she took the lives of every worker she found, callously and without remorse. It wasn't easy, or a matter of hiding and filling their ugly brutish bodies with arrows, or taking them from behind with a knife to the throat. Several times she was caught in skirmish and twice she was wounded with one of their horrid spears. On the last day of this carnage, Roxy had managed to get as far as the thick forests on the outskirts of the old city; she found herself taking refuge in the two hundred year old hulk of the Othalla, the ship that had brought their ancestors here under the control of the Naiad. There she tended her wounds and ate some of her rations, if she were to survive, Roxy had to find a way of this rock. But how? The Naiad had left before she was even born and she knew they left barely a trace of their technology behind. Thoughts of Cali still plagued her though, in the short time they had been on the run together, they had grown close, possibly too close.

After a day spent repairing her microweave armor, gathering what she could use and discarding what she didn't need, Roxy set about exploring the old hulk. To her surprise, once she ventured deeper into the vessel, buried in the forest as it was, she found it remarkably in reasonable condition. Two levels below the surface, there was no corrosion, it was free of any animal evidence and dry. At least she'd have a home base for a while.

The story went, possibly created by the Naiad that the old ship was contaminated and that it was totally off limits. To that point, they had set traps and other devices around it, but those had decayed long ago in the steamy conditions of the forest. Yet no one in all these years sought to question it, and simply dismissed it as a relic of the past. Now that she was here though, Roxy was intrigued and she probed ever deeper still until at last she reached the section that would have been the bridge. Her eyes were wide at what she saw, such marvels that had been denied her people by their enslavers all these years and to think, he own ancestors built this.

Finally she needed rest again, it had been a long time since she had slept, so with that in mind she made her way to what was definitely a comfortable chair (possibly the ship's captain's), settled in and curled up.

In her sleep she dreamed horrid things of the past, her body wrestled to stay still and at one point, her hand flung to the side landed on a control device which had the effect of some lighting being illuminated. She slept still, unaware that the device she had inadvertently turned on was the ships emergency beacon. Still operative after all these centuries.

* * *

An hours sleep was all she needed, her body trained to the nth degree with sleep deprivation drills, to such an extent, during the wars with the Wolga, that was the one advantage the Marines had over their antagonists. Long periods on patrol and in combat with little sleep.

Once awake, Roxy did notice the little flashing lights but paid no attention to it. The only technology she understood were the weapons she had used, now down to her compound bow and knives; the guns they had used all but useless now as the dutronium cartridges had long since been depleted. With a long stretch, she gathered her pack and weapons, then set off into the cold night to hunt. She would need protein if she was to survive and she needed to find some way to get off this rock. Surely there might be one of those old Naiad scout ships laying around, there had been rumors of a few down south in the old junk yards.

"Death is lighter than a feather, but Duty is heavier than a mountain." Roxy said aloud, knowing full well only the ghosts of the dead could hear her now. It was the motto of her unit, one passed down through the ages so it was said; yet she had an inkling it came from some literature of the old Earth her tutors spoke about in secret. It was talk forbidden by the Niaid under penalty of death, their version was that Roxy's people were created by them, to serve them and nothing else. She knew that was trash, everyone did.

She had hunted, eaten and eaten well especially after finding a bakery that only a day ago had been fully operational and some of the pies were still warm. The game she shot, well it was game as always and not the best eaten raw. So, now here she was on a ridge as the night became pitch, looking down on the glittering mass of the junkyard. Slowly she made her way down, what she would find only time would tell. "Cali you were right, we were in love and now you're gone. Left alone to embrace my own death when it comes."

* * *

For more than an hour standard time (which didn't really amount to anything Roxy could relate to), she poked around the junk yard in the dark, although there was a little light shining on her endeavours from the stars above her. There really wasn't much for her to find, such was the state of rubbish left behind for over a hundred years and gone over so many times by the workers, picked apart for any valuable metals and other items; Roxy felt she was wasting her time. But something in the back of her mind told her that contained within this huge pile of metal there had to be something of value others had ignored and she was determined to find it. Even if she had to cobble something together.

One of the better qualities sought out in candidates for the Marines, something the Niaid had sought out generations earlier, was that curiosity for technology and the gift some had for gathering random things together and making something of it. That was how the hovercopters were made in the past; the need to get to areas quickly to quell a riot between workers and it was something the Marines had built themselves long after the Niaid had gone. The thought of that gave Roxy an idea, maybe, just maybe there were several of them in reasonable condition, that she could salvage parts from a few and at least try to get one flying.

With those thoughts in mind, she left the junk yard and headed for her old base several kilometers away to the south. With any luck she would find more food there as well and perhaps other items, or weapons of use. Not that she had any enemies left to battle with.

* * *

At Roxy's pace it around two hours to reach her old base, once she made the perimeter, it didn't take her long to find that she was truly alone. A massive battle had taken place here, right at the gates; bodies of both sides were littered everywhere and it was quite obvious no one had given any quarter. It was truly a sickening sight indeed, even for her.

Another twenty minutes later and she found herself at the hovercopter control area and that to didn't give her much hope. That is until she looked further and deeper in behind the huge bunkered buildings; there, sitting as alone as she was, an almost intact machine, all that appeared to be damaged on it was some panels that had taken a few hits.

Her face lit up as she approached it, her hands running over its sleek form. "I am going to fly you." She said to herself, with no further plans in her mind than that.

The small ships service manual and other relevant data were held within the logic computer, which Roxy had to access. That might have been a problem for anyone else but a Colonial Marine, all she had to do (providing there was power) was to place her hand on the biometric pad, then hopefully all systems would come online. For the moment, it felt cold and rather forlorn sitting there, a beautiful creature with its wings clipped; if the power cell was intact she would be operational in moments.

For a long painful few moments, nothing happened, then one by one lights came on, indicators lit up and finally the green HUD screen display filled her vision. Roxy didn't have to know how to fly the thing, although she had done some primary training; the HC as it was called was intuitive, once she put on the helmet, the ship would follow her wishes more or less.

"Helmet?" She said roughly to herself, where in Hades was the flipping helmet. Looking around the cabin, she came up empty, nothing in the utility boxes at all. A long sigh let out from her breath as she slumped back on the cold cabin floor, her legs dangling out the door.

* * *

 _ **Current Stardate...**_

After laying there looking up at the overhanging canopy of trees for who knows how long, Roxy sat up quickly; one of those typical light bulb moments struck her. Bailing out of the HC, she ran to the nearby compound, searching the area and the rank bodies (or what remained of them) as she knew that somewhere amongst this carnage the crew of that craft was somewhere around, they had to be.

Her search took her finally to within one of the larger and mostly still intact buildings and from there it didn't take long to find what she was looking for. Slumped in the corner of one section were the remains of a four person crew of a HC; three men and one woman who looked like that had been speared or arrowed in flight, although there was evidence of a firefight as well. She had to chose by size as well and in that, she removed the helmet of a male, one who was somewhat 'less' damaged at that.

Doubling back the way she came, Roxy hadn't realised how far she went in her search as it took a good ten minutes at a decent pace to return to the HC. That, apparently for now was the least of her problems as she started to mumble to herself. _"What am I doing? Roxy you may as well shoot yourself, jump of a cliff. You're alone here, no one is alive and there is no way off this rock."_ But then she had to think about it. Did the Naiad only colonise this area of the moon? Maybe there was another colony somewhere? With that thought she soon had the HC in the air, skimming low over the city she had only a day ago escaped from.

Still unruffled by her own isolation and sudden pangs of loneliness, Roxy pressed on, she did feel a little exhilaration flying the hover-copter and from her vantage point skimming the tops of buildings and the trees she gained a new perspective on her surroundings. She was about to turn around and head back to the wreck of the ship when an alarm went off on her panel, apparently the Naiad had placed some kind of proximity alarms in orbit and it was being relayed to her little craft. A ship was coming and soon, she had no idea who it could be and she was going to take no chances. Her weapons systems were now armed, ready to take down anything; if they turned out to be friendly, she'd ask questions later...if they survived.

* * *

As the Apollo continued across space, Ryn reclined back into her chair letting her pilot do most of the work. She was in sort of a trance. In deep thinking to herself. As the shuttle continued its way silently with the inertial dampeners activated, the commander almost fell asleep. The steady hum of the engines were barely loud enough. Karo looked at her console seeing a small signal beeping intermittently so she reached over to switch it off. Ryn grunted wondering what that was, but Karo shrugged saying it was nothing. She kept her hands on her console.

Ryn sat up a bit and decided to engage in a small conversation to pass the time, "You have been in the Bajoran Resistance? Is this how you became a pilot?"  
Karo nodded "Yes. I flew some raiders for the resistance for awhile, but when the occupation was over, I joined Starfleet for a better career and use of my piloting skills.

The moon was quickly filling their viewscreen as they watched it. She responded again changing the subject, "We're coming up at the...moon." She turned to Ryn and asked, "Does she have a name?"

Ryn shrugged and responded "At the moment, no. Maybe we can call it Ryn's moon..."

Karo chortled at her commander's joke, and then was silent by her glare as she turned back to her console rapping out commands, "We're entering the atmosphere. Even with the inertial dampeners on, we can still feel the vibrations. The gravity seems heavier..."

Slowly, the Apollo started to visibly shake. A bit by bit as she entered the atmosphere. The earring on Karo's right ear started waving in the invisible air as the Bajoran pilot managed the Type 8 shuttle in the atmosphere. They continued to track the signal that seemed closer then it appeared...

Jackson found himself staring at the security officer that Ben brought along. He'd heard of the Xindi, but he never met one before close and face to face. Sure, he traveled everywhere in the galaxy, but there were a few places that he's never been before. It was a vast galaxy and chances are that he wouldn't even find the origin of the Borg if he had the chance to. He was fascinated by the alien races, both ancient and new across the universe. He was only twenty nine years old. The universe still had so much to offer him and he would only explore just a small five percentage of it.

The shuttle started shaking as if it was entering the atmosphere. He knew they were close. Getting up as he placed his pack on the chair, he excused himself from the passenger hold and made his way toward the cockpit. Seeing the atmosphere clearing on the viewscreen, he smiled as he approached the pilot seat and placed his hand on it. Karo was too focused to even notice him, but Ryn turned to him and snarled briefly, "What are you doing out of your seat?"

Jackson offered his wolfish grin as he nodded toward the viewscreen and responded in a casual manner, "Just checking on my investment. Looking at the neighborhood at where I'm going to stay."

The commander shook her head as she returned to her console to help Karo maintain her descent toward the ground, "This is not a game, Weaver, not a place for idle chat. Return to your seat."

Jackson shrugged as he continued, "But I wanted to be here. You know. Offer my morale support to the pilot who's responsible for flying us to the ground." He turned to whisper to the Lieutenant of which he has no idea what's her name, "You can do it. Take her down gently."

Karo nodded once as she smiled a bit thinking he was funny. Jackson continued looking at the viewscreen as his forehead creased together with a slight concern, "Isn't the Apollo shaking a little more than usual? Something in the air?"

Ryn responded bluntly, "Gravity's heavier than usual. Heavier than Earth as it seems. If you're staying on the moon, you'd be walking a little bit heavier than usual."  
Jackson grinned as he rapped his hand on the headset of the pilot chair a couple times responding, "Well, walking will be a challenge thats for sure. But I'm up for it."

* * *

The constant beeping was to say the least, annoying, even to the point Roxy was looking all over the place to shut it off; then there was the targeting node, it kept asking her 'fire' which she was tossing up in her mind to do or not. Essentially she wanted to find out who these creatures were and if she destroyed their craft, there was her chance to leave gone in one shot. The added entity in her mind was that vessel most likely came from a larger one and she knew she'd be toast within a heartbeat if she did destroy it. So she did the next best thing, she used a carefully aimed deflection shot, her target cross hairs sighted right on the thickest part of the hull, to such a fine degree her missile would basically just graze it, but enough to knock it out and sending it groundwards. She waited until it was just barely thirty meters above the surface, then she fired one single phalanx missile. "Gotcha!" she said silently and watched with baited breath as the arc of the missile left her little ship, doing exactly what she wanted it to do.

She stared at her kill, a little elated as the weapon exploded almost without much effect, other than to knock the small shuttle like ship well off its trajectory, then hit the earth with a thud, pushing a huge dust cloud in front of it as it skidded to a halt. Roxy flew over it once, doubled back then landed twenty meters away, she was out of her own craft in seconds, standing on a small hillock, bow in hand, two phaser arrows knocked. She kept herself hidden behind a large twisted piece of junk, only her eyes focused on what was to exit the small ship.

* * *

"Go back to your seat, Weaver," Ryn snapped back at the scholar as she continued watching her controls.

Jackson rolled his eyes and turned to head toward his seat. Karo suddenly shouted out as her controls start beeping wildly, "Ma'am, missile targeting detected! We are being shot at!"

Ryn reacted with a sharp command, "What? Evasive maneuvers!"

The missile reached the shuttle quickly before the Apollo could react. Jackson was halfway to his seat when the shuttle lurched upon being hit. He grunted in pain as he fell upon the wall and hurt his arm. The civilian archeologist stumbled and Lexia watched him fall. Unbuckling herself, her android body quickly went to his aid in the nick of time grabbing him to soften his fall as the shuttle hit the ground harshly. Karo did her best to control the shuttle's fall and as it hit, it glided a bit before it stopped.

When they landed, Ryn responded, "Is everyone alright? Damage control?"

Karo grunted in pain as she responded typing a few things on the console, "Engines are shot. I will need to asses the damage before I will give you a damage report."  
Jackson grunted in pain from his broken arm as Lexia propped him against the wall. She spoke to the Theresa, "Counselor Shoal. I need your medical assistance."

Ryn got up from her chair and walked back to the passenger section as she responded, "Alright people. We have landed. There might be hostiles outside. Lieutenant Jakashi, take your officer and set up a perimeter outside. We do not know who hit us as the shuttle's sensors are down."


End file.
